Switch and contact mechanism for electric-current-regulating plugs and sockets



A. PAPIAI.v

SWITCH AND CONTACT MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIC CURRENTREGULATING PLUGS ANDSOCKETS,

APPLICATION FILED III/m29, 1920.

1,342,061. PaientedJune 1, 1926.`

of? we .5a-571. A 25 INVENTQB I ATTORNEYS ica-acci.

i subject of the Kiiigof Italy,

narran s'rATEs PATENT OFFICE."

ANTONO PAPII, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,KASSIGNOR T0 A. MECKYCOMPANY, OF PHLADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VAN'1A.

SWITCH .aim courrier: iviEcHANisM FOR ELECTRIO-CURRENT-REGULATING PLUGSAND sOoKnTs.

To all whom t may concern.'

`Be it known that l, ANTONIO PAPINI, a having resided in the UnitedStates one year last past and having declared my intention. of becominga citizen thereof, residinV in the'city and county of Philadelphia, tateOf Pennsyl-V Vania,

have invented a new and useful Switch Current-Regulating Plugs andSockets, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention consists of a novel construction lof a switch and contactmechanism for an electric regulating plug and socket wherein I employ aporcelain body having a portion thereof attened and adapted to support aplate or bracket carrying two pins secured thereto, one of said 'pinsbeing adapted to'serve as a journal or a bearing for the switchoperating mechanism, and the other of said pins serving as a stop pin tolimit the extent of movement of the contact lever or its finger when thelatter reaches either of its eXtreme positions.

It further consists in a novel manner of assembling the contact leverand' its adjuncts, and in a novel arrangement of a tension deviceintermediate of said contact lever and the shank of the insulating key,whereby a proper tension isy at all times iinpart'ed to the contactlever, according to requirements.

It further consists of -a novel manner of assembling the porcelain bodyportion, the plate carried thereby to which a plurality of pins aresecured, the contact lever, the operating spindle which carries saidlever and the means for creating a tension upon said contact lever,whereby said partscan .be readily assembled or disconnected for the.

purpose of inspection, replacement and re-A pair. y

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in theaccompanying drawings one form thereof which is at present preferred byme, since the same has beenA found in practice to give satisfactoryand-v reliable results, although it is to be understood that the variousinstrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variouslyarranged and Organized and that my invention is not limited Ato theprecise ar- Specicaton of Letterslatent.

and Contact Mechanism for Electric-A vcorresponding parts in thefigures.

' rangement -and organization of these instru- Patented June 1, 1920.VAppiicationieanarch 2e, 1920. serial No. 369,663.

mentalities as herein shown andl described.

Figure-1 represents a side elevation of anelectric current regulatingplug and socket, switch and contact mechanism embodying' my invention,the Outer casingthereof and lits adjun'cts being shown in section. l

lF ig. 2 represents a Itop view of Fig. 1

jwith the top of the in closing'case removed.

Fig. 3 represents-on an section on line 3-3 Fig. 1. c y Similar numeralsof referencev indicate enlarged scale a' Referring to the drawings.,

1 designates my novel construction of l switch and contact mechanism,the` saine comprising the body -2 of porcelain or similar materialhaving the attened portion 3 on which the plate or bracket 4 of brass orother material is fastened.

5 designates the socket or lamp holder, and 6 the case inclosing theoperative elements, said case having the flanged top 7 on which thecover 8 is spun or otherwise secured, thereby forming a compact andcheaply assembled device, said casehaving an annular lower row of holes9 therein, and said cover having also a row of holes'therein, asindicated at 10.

The bracket t has the central disposed pin 11 and the stop pin 12 rmlyriveted or secured thereto, as will be vunderstood from Figq. v

13 designates a squared shank spindle,

which is rotatably mounted on the pin 11, v

soy

said spindle carrying the contact lever 14 A lwhich is rotated in unisonwith said spindle ment of the contact lever 14 within predeterminedlimits.

The spindle 13, canrotate freely upon the pin 11 as a bearing and isprovided with the terminal flange 17, which bears against the bracket orplate 4.-

18 designates a portion of the electric current conveyer. or plate,which projects through the porcelain body 2, as will be -understood fromFigs. 1 and 3, with which p said stoppin 12 will limit the eXtremeinovethe outer end of the finger 15 of the contact plate contacts, thelatter having an inwardly deflected portion or foot 19 (see Fig. 3)which rides on the plate 4 which is held in position on the body 2 byany suitablemeans as the lips or deflected flanges 20, said footassisting to properly position the contact lever at all times.

21 designates a hole through the cover 6 counter bore or recess 26therein, in which one end of the -coil spring 27 is housed, the oppositeend of said spring bearing on the contact arm 14,- so that the finger 15of the latter is always constantly pressed against the contiguoussurfaces of the electric conductorilS, thereby insuring an uninterruptedflow of current to the .desired point and a smooth operation of' thevarious moving parts.

Such other parts of my novel device as has not been moreparticularlyreferred to are of the usual construction and their function and mannerof operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the bracket or plate 4 can bereadily assembled with respect to the porcelain body 2 by means of thelips or flanges 20 and that the contact lever 14 can be readilyassembled with respect to the spindle 13, which latter has its bearingupon the central pin 11 and the contact of the stop pin 12 with theupper and lower terminals of the slot 16 will limit the movements of thefinger 15 within predetermined limits as is evident, and when the deviceis assembled as seen in Fig. 3, it will be apparent that the tension ofthe spring 27 will cause the' foot 19 and the finger 15vto properlycontact with their contiguous elements, the free endv of the finger 15particularly contacting with theconveyer 18 in a proper manner. Theyrotation of the key 23 will actuate the .contact finger 15 to thedesired extent with respect to the conductor or conveyer 18, as isevident.

When the device is assembled the moving elements in the case 6 areeffectively housed therein and so are rendered inaccessible and"prevented from disintegrationl in handling or moving the device. 1

The principal elements of my device can be readily stamped, punched, orpressed out of sheet metal and can be readily assembled without theemployment of skilled labor,.as is evident.

viaaoei It will now be apparent that I have devised la novel and usefulconstruction of switch and Contact mechanism for electric currentregulating plug and socket which embodies the fea-tures of'advantageenumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the abovedescription, and while I have, in the present instance, shown anddescribed' a preferred embodiment thereofl which will give in practicesatisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the sameis susceptible of modification in various particulars without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of itsadvantages.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is z- 1. In a device of the character stated,an insulating body having a flattened wall, a plate secured thereto, abearing pin secured to said plate, a shank having its bearing on saidpin, a contact lever mounted' on said shank, a key engaging said shank,tension devices intermediate said key and contact lever, and means forlimiting the movements of the latter.

2. In a device of the characterstated, a

body, a plate secured -thereto and having a u bearing pm and a stop pinsecured thereto, a

shank rotatably mounted on said bearing pin, a contact lever rotatablein unison with said shank and having a finger at one end, and a curvedslot at the other end coacting with said stop pin, and a key inengagement with said shank for rotating the latter and said contactlever.

3. In a device of the character stated, a body having a flattened wall,a plate secured to said wall and having a bearing pin and a stop pinsecured thereto, a shank rotatably mounted on said bearing pin, acontact lever rotatable in unisonwith said shank and having a finger ato ne end, and a curved slot at the opposite end, the walls of said sloten gaging said stop pin, a key in engagementwith said shank, and tensiondevices inter- 4mediate said key and contact lever.

plate secured thereto, a bearing pin projecting from said plate, asquared shank having its bearing on said pin and provided with aterminal flange bearing on said plate, an

electric conveyer projecting "through said body, a Contact lever carriedby said shank and having a finger engaging said conveyer,

, an inwardly defiected foot on said lever ride ing on said plate,'a keyengaging said shank; a case inclosing said body, and means common tosaid key and case for retaining said 'key in position. 4

6. ln a device of the character stated, an

plate secured thereto, a bearing pin'projecting from said plate,asquared shank having its bearing on 'said pinand provided Withv a-`"termina'l flange bearing on saidA plate, an

electric'Y conveyer projectingv through Said body, a contact levercarried by saidshankand having a finger engaging said conveyer,

an inwardly defiected foot on said leverridv ing on said plate, a keyengaging Saidshank, a caseinclosing said body, -andmeans eom. mon to.said key and case for retaining. said key in position, in Icombinationwith a coil insulating body having av flattened Wall, a 1

body, a contactlevercarried by saidshank and having a finger engagingsaid conveyer,`l an inwardly deflected foot on said lever rid-v ing onsaid plate, a key engaging said shank, a case inclosing said body, andmeans common to said key and case for retaining said i key in position,in combination With means for limiting-the movement of -said contactlever. Y.

8. In adevice of the character stated, an

insulating body. having av flattened Wall, a

plate' `secured thereto, a bearing pin projecting from said plate, asquared shank having its bearing on said pin and provided with aterminal ange bearing on said plate, an

electric conveyer projecting through said.`

body, a contact lever carried bysaid shank and having a finger engagingsaid conveyer,

an inwardly deflected-foot on said lever riding on said plate, a keyengaging saidshank, a case inclosing said b'ody, means common to saidkeyand ease for retainingxsaid key in position in combination with acoil spring" A p surrounding said shank and located between said key andcontact lever, and means or:

limiting the Amovement of said'c'ontact lever..` I

ANTONIBAPINI.'

- `Witnessesz JOHN A. WIEDERSHEIM, lf. BUssINGER.

